by Joe Buff
Virginia class: the latest class of nuclear-propelled fast-attack submarines (SSNs) being constructed for the United States Navy, to follow the Seawolf class. The first, the USS Virginia, is due to be commissioned in 2004. (Post — Cold War, some SSNs have been named for states, since construction of Ohio-class Trident missile “boomers” has been halted.)
Wide-aperture array: a sonar system introduced with the USS Seawolf in the mid-1990s, distinct from and in addition to the bow sphere, towed arrays, and forward hull array of the Cold War’s Los Angeles—class SSNs. Each submarine so equipped actually has two wide-aperture arrays, one along each side of the hull. Each array consists of three separate rectangular hydrophone complexes. Powerful signal-processing algorithms allow sophisticated analysis of incoming passive sonar data. This includes instant ranging (see above).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research and professional assistance that form the nonfiction technical underpinnings of Tidal Rip are a direct outgrowth and continuation of those for Crush Depth, Thunder in the Deep, and Deep Sound Channel. First I want to thank my formal manuscript readers: Captain Melville Lyman, U.S. Navy (ret.), commanding officer of several SSBN strategic missile submarines, and now director for special weapons safety and surety at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; Commander Jonathan Powis, Royal Navy, who was navigator on the fast-attack submarine HMS Conqueror during the Falklands crisis, and who subsequently commanded three different British submarines; Lieutenant Commander Jules Verne Steinhauer, USNR (ret.), diesel-boat veteran, and naval aviation submarine liaison in the early Cold War; retired Senior Chief Bill Begin, veteran of many “boomer” strategic deterrent patrols; and Peter Petersen, who served in the German Navy’s U-518 in World War II. I also want to thank two Navy SEALs, Warrant Officer Bill Pozzi and Commander Jim Ostach, for their feedback, support, and friendship.
A number of other navy people gave valuable guidance: George Graveson, Jim Hay, and Ray Woolrich, all retired U.S. Navy captains, former submarine skippers, and active in the Naval Submarine League; Ralph Slane, vice-president of the New York Council of the Navy League of the United States, and docent of the Intrepid Museum; Ann Hassinger, research librarian at the U.S. Naval Institute; Richard Rosenblatt, M.D., formerly a medical consultant to the U.S. Navy; and Commander Rick Dau, USN (ret.), operations director of the Naval Submarine League.
Additional submariners and military contractors deserve acknowledgment. They are too many to name here, but standing out in my mind are pivotal conversations with Commander (now Captain) Mike Connor, at the time CO of USS Seawolf, and with the late Captain Ned Beach, USN (ret.), brilliant writer and one of the greatest submariners of all time. I also want to thank, for the guided tours of their fine submarines, the officers and men of USS Alexandria, USS Connecticut, USS Dallas, USS Hartford, USS Memphis, USS Salt Lake City, USS Seawolf, USS Springfield, USS Topeka, and the modern German diesel submarine U-15. I owe “deep” appreciation to everyone aboard the USS Miami, SSN 755, for four wonderful days on and under the sea.
Similar thanks go to the instructors and students of the New London Submarine School and the Coronado BUD/SEAL training facilities, and to all the people who demonstrated their weapons, equipment, attack vessels, and aircraft at the amphibious warfare bases in Coronado and Norfolk. Appreciation also goes to the men and women of the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf, the fleet-replenishment oiler USNS Pecos, the deep submergence rescue vehicle Avalon, and its chartered tender the Kellie Chouest.
The Current Strategy Forum, and publications, of the Naval War College were similarly invaluable. The opportunity to fly out to the amphibious warfare helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima during New York City’s Fleet Week 2002, and then join with her sailors and marines in rendering honors as the ship passed Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center, was one of the most powerfully emotional experiences of my life.
First among the publishing professionals who deserve acknowledgment is my wife, Sheila Buff, a nonfiction author with more than two dozen titles in health and wellness and nutrition, nature loving, and bird-watching. Then comes my literary agent, John Talbot, who lets me know exactly what he likes or doesn’t like in no uncertain terms. Equally crucial is my editor at William Morrow, Mike Shohl, always enthusiastic, accessible, and inspiring through his keen insights on how to improve my manuscript drafts.
NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR
Recent geopolitical events have served to remind us all of important old lessons: The world is a volatile, dangerous place. Victory in one war can unpredictably heighten global tension and instability, creating power vacuums to be filled by ambitious new terrorists and tyrants, triggering more armed strife. International coalitions ebb and flow, but the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction raises the stakes of diplomacy to a frightening degree. Profound changes are taking place in the threats to America and our allies. These perilous trends require decisive action. Yet solutions are impossible without properly trained personnel, equipment, war-fighting doctrine, and national will.
Since their inception, in every era, submarines rank among the most sophisticated weapons systems, and the most impressive benchmarks of technology and engineering, achieved by the human race. Stunning feats of courage by their crews, of sacrifice and endurance, loom large on the pages of history. Special Forces commandos, dating in concept to the Second World War, tremendously leverage the power of main-line formations. In the strange new world the twenty-first century is turning out to be, joint operations beneath, upon, and launched from the sea will stay crucial to influencing events on land around the globe.
The tools and techniques of modern warfare are constantly advancing. Development will continue, rendered more urgent by the War on Terror and the pent-up spreading of nuclear arms. Breakthrough sonar systems enable a quantum leap in submarine capability to stealthily search for ultraquiet hostile targets. Advanced SEAL Delivery System minisubs, transported by larger host vessels, covertly deploy combat swimmers to the forward coastline area. Remote-controlled Unmanned Undersea Vehicles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, with mission-configured sensor packages — some of them even armed — turn their parent nuclear subs into veritable undersea aircraft carriers, invisibly lurking beneath the waves.
The world’s oceans are the world’s highways for the transport of goods and the conduct of commerce. The oceans are also barriers to wholesale invasion by enemy troops, yet they provide efficient routes of access to spy on those enemies and aid our friends. Mastery of undersea warfare is therefore vital, for whoever controls the ocean’s depths controls its surface — and thus controls much of the world. Seapower, strongly employed, is key to protecting peaceful societies everywhere.
To some questions about the future of national defense, valid answers will be critical to preserve democracy and freedom: Which gaps in our security posture, or blind spots in our thinking, could be exploited in the years to come by a shrewd, aggressive emerging Evil Empire or Axis of Conspiracy? From what unforeseen quarter might the next bloody surprise attack fall? What sacrifices and feats of courage will America and our allies need to prevail in the almost inevitable, eventual Next Big War? Perhaps the only certainty is that heroic submariners and SEALs will play an indispensable part in deterring that war, or in winning it.
JOE BUFF
May 31, 2003
Dutchess County, New York
About the Author
JOE BUFF is a Life Member of the U.S. Naval Institute, the Naval Submarine League, the Navy League of the United States, the CE/Seabees Historical Foundation, and the Fellows of the Naval War College. Admired for his technical knowledge, he is considered an expert in submarines and national defense. Two of his nonfiction articles about future submarine technology and tactics have won Annual Literary Awards from the Naval Submarine League. He is the author of the highly regarded novels of submarine warfare: Crush Depth, Thunder in the Deep, Deep Sound Channel, and the u
pcoming Straits of Power. Mr. Buff lives with his wife in Dutchess Country, New York. You can visit his website at www.joebuff.com.
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